Release date for Sunrise on the Reaping announced

A new Hunger Games book is in the works, but die-hard fans will have to wait a year to get their hands on it.

Author Suzanne Collins confirmed the exciting news today (June 7), and the latest edition is set to hit shelves on March 18, 2025.

“Sunrise on the Reaping” is the fifth book in Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian series and, according to her publisher Scholastic, is set 24 years before the first Hunger Games novel, which came out in 2008, and 40 years after the author’s most recent book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

While her previous novels were inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, Collins’ new book will be looking at something different this time. She hinted that she is inspired by Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume, particularly his “idea of ​​implicit submission” and, in his words, “the ease with which the many are ruled by the few.”

And fans of Katniss Everdeen can look forward not only to the book, but also to a new film. The film studio Lionsgate, which has released all the Hunger Games films so far, is also on board and has confirmed that it will adapt the new book for the big screen. The cinema release date has been given as November 20, 2026.

Francis Lawrence, who worked on all Hunger Games films except the first, will also direct again.

The first four Hunger Games books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages.

The franchise is also set to receive a West End show later this year. The new play, which will premiere in London in autumn 2024, is written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Conor McPherson (The Night Alive, The Veil) and directed by Matthew Dunster, director of 2:22: A Ghost Story, Hangmen and The Pillowman.

“To receive Suzanne Collins’ blessing to adapt The Hunger Games for the stage is both humbling and inspiring,” said McPherson. “She has created a classic story that resonates today more than ever. In a world where truth itself seems increasingly at stake, The Hunger Games beautifully expresses values ​​of resilience, self-reliance and independent moral self-examination, especially for younger people.”